Draw us in the Spirit's tether; For when humbly, in thy name,
Two or three are met together, Thou art in the midst of them:
Alleluya! Alleluya! Touch we now thy garment's hem.
As the brethren used to gather In the name of Christ to sup,
Then with thanks to God the Father Break the bread and bless the cup,
Alleluya! Alleluya! So knit thou our friendship up.
All our meals and all our living Make us sacraments of thee,
That be caring, helping, giving, We may true disciples be.
Alleluya! Alleluya! We will serve thee faithfully.
Percy Deamer (1867-1936)
Where two or three are
gathered in my name, I am in the midst of them.
A challenge of being a
Catholic in the Diaspora is the lack of community. There are few places where
we can gather in prayer, share the challenges and joys of our journey in faith,
and just have a good time laughing or crying.
The absence of this connection is painful. The disciples of Jesus gathered and shared
their fears and joys. We are called to
do the same.
But how? Where? When? These are questions I ask myself. Many of you
have posed the same and expressed hope that such an opportunity could develop.
So, with faith in the
Spirit and the urging of my friends, I
am floating the idea of a community of prayer.
I keep coming back to the idea that this eclectic group of seekers could
come together as a contemporary expression of the ancient traditions of
celebration, contemplation and action of the Roman Rite. I imagine a
confederation of people radical in the desire to return to the roots of faith
in the Baptismal call and contemporary in imperative to be in the messiness of
our daily living.
I also have this idea that
it might be time to explore the impact of rearranging the order of the
mass. I surely know all he reason why this
should “not” happen. I am not saying it
“should” but might it?
We are told, “When supper
was ended He took the cup…” (1 Cor 25) The singing of songs followed the meal. (Mark 14:26)
Today we close the family meal,
well that is when the sports schedule permits, with conversation. Even when we sing “Happy birthday”, we follow the
song with delicious delights and then conversation that tells tales of
birthdays long past. Over looking the
complication of the sports line-up, long, intimate sharing of stories around
the table bond the family linking the older generation to emerging future. These are the conversations that pass on
family stories, link the future generations to the past and strengthen the
bonds of family. This has been widely studied by scholars and reported in the
literature.
It is no mistake that the
important business meeting also center around a shared meal. Although a sale might happen before the main
course is served, it is the informal conversation that accompanies that
cappuccino that solidifies the relationship.
Why can’t this be a model for a Eucharistic
meal?
What I propose is
beginning with introductory rites that look at the collective praise of God and
seeking forgiveness. Then the Liturgy of
the Eucharist is the meal we celebrate together in faith. It nourishes us and fills us with the light
of understanding that enveloped the apostles at Emmaus, “And they knew him in the breaking of the
bread.” (Luke 24:13-35
Then filled with this
intimate knowing of Jesus and torn open by the gifts of the Spirit, we share
the stories of faith in the Liturgy of the Word. “Our hearts are opened” and the stories of
faith come alive. Like the family meal, nourished and well fed, we share the stories
of our faith and support each other for the work of church in the world.
Worship closes with a
commissioning.
I shared this idea with a
fellow pastoral musician who was aghast and said “There will be no one in the
church. You know everyone will leave
after communion!” I take this as a very sad
commentary on the state of the parish experience of the Eucharistic
celebration. “It is all about ‘getting
communion’ ,” he said. I must sadly
agree. This has been my experience as well.
I will stop here to give
you time to ponder. Your thoughts?
